Engine Misfire – Spark Plug Issues: Seeing as i have yet to complete my reviews yet (i get delivered my review catalogue tomorrow as well… finally back after the Christmas break) i thought that i would solve an engine misfire issue and add this to the riding tips category. Although not really a riding tip I believe that anyone who operates or owns a vehicle be it a motorcycle, car or whatever you’re into should have some basic knowledge of problems and solutions associated with that vehicle – preventative maintenance . Most of the information is generally straight forward which you can learn by simply observing the problem. But why not add a helpful resource to the site anyway?
The other day i started up my bike to let it run while i was giving it her a Winter polish. The temperature was around 0C (34F i believe) and after the bike had been running for a couple of minutes the engine suddenly started to run rough and uneven. A few minutes later and some fiddling around and the bike was starting to only use one cylinder (V Twin bike). This is commonly referred to as Engine Misfire and is easily and cheaply resolved. Generally engine misfire is caused by spark plugs which have become black and worn out (basically), although this is not the only reason for engine misfire – 99% of the time it is. So what do you do?
My Used Spark Plug
Simply take out the spark plug and check to see whether the thread is black (you’ll probably need some sort of specialised spanner). If not then you have another issue on your hands which may be more serious. However if your bike has gone for a length of time without the spark plugs being changed then it is most likely going to be this anyway. How do you fix it then? Buy some new ones. There are kits which can clean the plugs but for the price it is much better to simply buy some new ones. They are usually around £6 each ($9) so it is not the end of the world. A more troublesome problem if you use your bike as the only form of transport like myself is that parts take a couple of days to ship in and while the engine is misfiring it is not advised to run the bike as damage could incur to the engine. Just don’t do it. Well, luckily most motorcycle shops keep a wide range of spark plugs already in stock so all i did was go out the same day and buy two. Problem solved. Fitting the plugs takes all of a minute so no worries there either.
A New Spark Plug
I know that this information may not be helpful to those arm chair critics out there but i hope it can help some people and i hope that others will add to it below if you have any alternative advice. I’ll be back to normal writing asap but for today that is all!
P.S. Feel free to email me, message me on twitter (preferred) or comment below for advice or any other grievances.
If there was a crumb on the table and you cut it in half, would you have two crumbs or two halves of a crumb?